Newsstand: September 16, 2010

It’s a spectacular Thursday and there’s much to discuss, including: Tories for George, Toronto the pricey, and an evening without The Boss.

In the first Tory action in this city’s current mayoral campaign to be officially deemed “grassroots,” a group of thirty-eight Conservatives have signed an open letter in support of George Smitherman for mayor. Adorably billed as the “Tories for George” email, the letter was endorsed by several former cabinet ministers and two senators. There were no MPPs or MPs on the list, a fact Smitherman’s camp blames on the lack of elected Tories in Toronto. Take a look at the full letter here.
Attention, fans of destruction on a massive scale: your calls have been answered! Wreckers have been going to town on the kiln building and germination building of the Canada Malting Company, Ltd. for about a week now, and the epic demolition isn’t over. The two buildings are owned by the city and are part of historic complex that includes two silo structures built in 1929 and 1944, which will remain standing. The area where the two demolished buildings stood will most likely be sold to a developer for some sort of mixed-use project that may or may not include a pub, some housing, and some office space, says local Councillor Adam Vaughan (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina).
Even as she enters the push for what she promises will be her last run at Mississauga’s mayoral office, the seemingly unbreakable Hazel McCallion continues to draw fire for alleged back-room dealings. The inquiry into McCallion’s involvement in a business deal that involved a company partially owned by her son, Peter McCallion, heard testimony yesterday from Murray Cook. Cook is a former business partner of McCallion the younger and said the mayor played the role of “peacekeeper” and did not lobby for project approval that would financially benefit her son. Cook’s testimony directly refutes earlier evidence that the mayor pushed hard in favour of decisions that would put control of a large and lucrative building deal in the hands of her son.
To all of you happy, content subway riders out there—prepare to be disgruntled. The University-Spadina line will be shut down for repairs from Lawrence West to Downsview station from 6 a.m. on Saturday until 6 a.m. on Monday. Shuttles will be running and will stop at all affected stations.
Have you ever thought to yourself, “Gee, three dollars seems like a lot for a Twix bar,” or “Ho hum, since when did paying my rent mean eating a diet of lentils and dollar-store Alphagetti?” Perhaps you’ve been sensing what the Swiss wealth management firm USB Bank yesterday reported: Toronto is among the top ten most expensive cities in the world. We moved up more than twenty spots to edge out budget busting metropolises like London, Singapore, and Paris. We hope you’re rich. Or that you like lentils.
And, after much nervous and excited anticipation and a lot of concert tickets going for way more than they were worth, Bruce Springsteen did not make a surprise appearance at the Jesse Malin show at the Horseshoe Tavern last night. The Boss was in town for the red carpet gala for The Promise and Horseshoe owner Jeff Cohen was cautiously optimistic Springsteen might sit in on a set, as he’s done so before with Malin. Sadly, it didn’t happen, so to all those diehard Boss fans, here are a few bittersweet words to ease the pain of a Boss-free evening: “And I drive a Challenger down route nine through the dead ends and all the bad scenes, and when the promise was broken, I cashed in a few of my dreams.” Hm. That may have actually made it worse.